Leica Geosystems and Doosan have announced the release of a new Leica-ready factory kit for the Doosan DX255LC-5 excavator with the new semi-automated excavator functionality.

The new technology solution meets the increasing demand for machine guidance systems from excavator customers and the ready kit from Doosan is for the Leica iXE2 2D and iXE3 3D excavator machine control solutions, which enable tilt bucket or tilt rotator automation for the Doosan 25.5t crawler excavator.

Under the collaboration between Doosan and Leica Geosystems, the new factory kit enables customers to order their Doosan excavators pre-configured to be ready for the installation of the Leica 2D and 3D machine control systems. Also, the Leica-ready kit includes all the components needed to install the new semi-automatic functionality for the DX255LC-5 excavator directly from Doosan’s factory through Doosan Smart Solutions.

The kits include all the components, such as main brackets, wires and sensors, required to make sure a piece of equipment is ready for the installation of the machine control solution and the semi-auto functionality, which gives customers the flexibility to install the complete system at a later date.

Magnus Thibblin, machine control president, Leica Geosystems, said: “The automation journey into several areas in earthmoving equipment has been an active area of research and development over the past three decades in the industry. Starting with the world’s first string-less paving solution, to 3D GNSS automatic dozer solutions, Leica Geosystems has been driving the change in the heavy construction industry.

“Today we can offer semi-automatic systems for excavators, including tilt and tilt rotator bucket automation, Automatic Tool Recognition and CoPilot functions to help operators work with less fatigue and in higher comfort. The new semi-automatic functionality for excavators enables even less experienced operators to execute complex tasks, reduce manual controls, increase productivity, speed and accuracy of the work, resulting in less over digging and reduced operational costs.”

Charlie Hyunchul Park, CEO, Doosan Europe, added: “Under our motto of ‘Powered by Innovation’, Doosan is keen on expanding our smart solution offerings. I am glad that our close partnership with Leica Geosystems, a leading innovator in smart construction, resulted in the new ready kit for the Leica 2D and 3D machine control systems, which surely will help our customers achieve better productivity and job efficiency.”

The machine guidance system gives operators easy access to design surfaces, grades and alignments on a display inside the excavator cab. The system uses GNSS, GPS, laser, sonic or total station technology to accurately position the blade or bucket in real time, which is designed to significantly reduce material overages and improve the contractor’s productivity and efficiency. The site plan and grade information can be displayed in the cab, allowing operators to complete jobs faster with minimal supervision, obtaining higher precision finishing with a reduced number of passes.